Tie-dye Rainbow Stars
by Grapenillacupcake
Summary: ((Trans AU.)) Tobias is a young trans boy that keeps his trans status a closeted secret from everyone other then his family. However, one faithful encounter with a certain friend changes everything. ((No explicit ships, can be read as Gumball x Tobias if one wishes!))


Tie-dye Rainbow Stars.

* * *

If you were to ask Tobias what he loved and hated most about himself, he wouldn't pause to tell you the same answer- that it was his fluffy, colorful fur.

His fur covered his entire body, thus keeping most of his figure hidden, stopping people from asking questions or assuming anything. It's best feature was how well it hid his chest. When he wasn't wearing his binder or one of his sport bras, his chest bump could be assumed as just another puff on his fur. The fact it was a bright orange sherbet and neon blue swirl helped keep people's eyes distracted, staring at anything else.

At this moment, however, it was causing him much more harm than good.

Recess had just begun, the courtyards packed with his hyperactive classmates. The school year had just started, the sun still beating down with extreme heat. Earlier, he had ran out with wild vigor, only for his fur to go against him within ten minutes. All of his bright colors absorbed the sunlight heavily, his thick fur kept it trapped inside, practically baking him from the inside out. His tight binder felt tighter from the heat, making breathing harder and painful.

So, Tobias had weakly walked over to a small corner shaded by the trees and sat down. He relished in the feeling of the cool asphalt against his legs. However, he now realized, he couldn't enjoy the feeling for too long; his mind bringing him back to the problem. The only real solution was to take off his binder, so it would make moving and breathing easier in the hot weather.

He chewed on his lips, anxiety beginning to eat at his innards. When he changed in school, he did it before or after gym class, and that was in the privacy of his own stall. While specific teachers knew of his gender, nobody at school did. The threat of being caught during that time, being found out made his chest tighten up in terror. However, the discomfort of his binder hurt more then his fears.

Tobias took a deep breath, winced at the pain, then finally found the will to stand up and move. He snuck away quietly, trying to avoid all of the people and games around. Fortunately, seemingly everyone were distracted by basketball, jump rope and other games. The other kids that sat away all of the noise didn't seem to notice him, so Tobias slipped into the school completely undetected.

He closed the door quietly behind him, panting as he rested his back against the cool metal doors. He wiped his brow of sweat, quieting his breaths as he tuned in for any noise. There was the distant murmurs and laughter from the highschool kids, though they were all in their own classes. Tobias reminded himself where he was going, the junior high bathrooms. No high schoolers would have a reason to be lurking around those particular bathrooms.

First comes first though, he had to go to his locker first. Before his mind could spiral down a hypothetical 'what if' nightmare, he forced himself to leave the cool of the door and walked down the hallways.

He held his hands close to his chest, his gaze wandered around everywhere. He began to nervously grin.

 _'Nobody is here,'_ Tobias thought. _'I'm safe! The chances of somebody else being here is pretty low. The chances of anybody stalking me is like, super low. I'm gonna be fine!'_

Just as he hoped, he was alone by the lockers. He went over to his and quickly unlocked it. The inside of his locker was decorated with stickers and taped on pictures of him, his friends and family, with deodorant spray cans haphazardly tossed around. Most important was the white paper shopping bag shoved in the very back. Inside was his sport bras, along where he stashed his only binder in.

He closed the locker quietly and relocked it, turning around sharply to speed walk over to the nearest bathroom for boys. He clutched his bag close to his chest, a smile forming on his face as it came into his vision.

 _'I'm almost done! I knew it was gonna be okay! Everything is gonna be just fine-"_

His thoughts skidded to a halt, along with his body, at the sight of Gumball Waterson suddenly appearing from the other side of the hall.

His eyes widened, holding his breath, frozen for a moment. He considered running off, though it was already too late. Gumball saw him to and had a familiar reaction, his eyes folding back and his tail poofing slightly.

"O-O, hey Tobias! How are you doing, good? Good? I hope you're feeling good!" he said in between nervous bursts of laughter, holding something behind his back.

"Um, hah, I'm doing pretty good man! What, uh, what-what about you?" Tobias asked, voice trembling.

"Just! Doing regular stuff! I was gonna go to the bathroom but it's clear that you need it more and we should just forget this EVER happened sOOO OKAY BYE!" Gumball took a deep breath of air before he attempted to zoom off in the other direction. However, he crashed face-first into a nearby locker and fell to the ground with a loud grunt, a plastic bag falling out of his hands.

Tobias stared at what came out of Gumball's bag. Gumball pushed himself onto his knees with his arms, sat up, then quietly hissed as he touched his forehead. He turned around with a quiet grunt and made a move to reach for his bag. His hand froze upon seeing the roll of bandages moving across the hallway, unraveling as it did so.

The nearly empty tool hit Tobias foot, where he reached down and picked it up. He faintly recalled seeing them at his home, though he stayed clear of them, hearing all the warning flags talked about them on binding websites.

Ace bandages.

There was a moment of silence.

"...Hey, Gumball?" he asked in a calm voice. In the short timespan, Gumball shrunk up, his head low and staring at his lap. He couldn't see his eyes.

"Why do you have these? You don't seem hurt..." Gumball didn't say a word. Tobias opened his mouth, wanting to just blurt you, "are you a trans boy just like me!?" but closed it, trying to control himself.

"...You know... you can tell me what you're using these for. I... I can... well," he rubbed the back of his head, "I might... relate to what you use these for." Gumball ears perked up. There was silence again and Tobias sighed, deliberating if he should keep skirting around in case Gumball wasn't trans or if she should be blunt.

Luckily, he didn't have to make the choice. Gumball spoke up first.

"Are you... trans to?" Tobias was taken aback, not from his question but from how vulnerable his voice sounded. True anxiety and worry was laced in every letter, something Tobias rarely heard from Gumball.

"I... I am. I am! I thought, I-I thought I was the only one!" He said, his voice getting louder in excitement, as the realization hit him. He wasn't the only trans person here! Gumball raised his head, a growing smile on his tear stained face. Tobias felt his heart pang.

"Dude, this is awesome!" Gumball stood up with a sniff and Tobias couldn't help himself. He ran over, giving Gumball a tight hug. He returned the hug quickly, the two wrapping their arms around each other's sides.

After the hug stopped, Tobias mind went from joy to anger.

"Gumball! Why are you binding with ace bandages!?"

"Wh-Barely ten seconds have passed, Tobias! Can't we have a moment for once?"

"Why do you say that like we always have ruined moments!?"

"Well-"

"ACTUALLY, I don't care! You can't bind with ace bandages!" Tobias groaned. Gumball crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. Tobias realized he had dropped his white bag in his hug and picked it up.

"Dude, I'm way too embarrassed asking my parents for a binder. They're supportive, obviously, but they're just so... parent-y about hearing and dealing with these trans issues! If I even brought up I'm starting to develop breasts, my mom would probably ask me if it was okay to call them men spurts! And-hey!" Tobias began to push Gumball into the bathroom, despite his protests.

The door shut behind them, masking their noises.

"Ughhh! What are you? The worry-wort trans master?"

"YES." Tobias sighed angrily, reaching into his white bag for a sports bra. "Listen, I know you think it's just bandages. But, they're made for CONSTRICTING, not BINDING. Do you realize what difference that makes?"

"...No." Tobias pinched the bridge of his face.

"Of course you don't. Basically, they're meant to constrict whatever it's wrapped around into place. So like, you have to breath."

"Yeah, duh." Gumball interrupted. Tobias continued on.

"So with each breath, the bandages begin to constrict so your chest stays in place. That means it can seriously limit your breathing, even permanently bandage your ribs forever! Imagine having messed up bones for life!" Gumball looked sheepish now.

"That... sounds... bad." Tobias nodded, pulling out one of his smaller sport bras, in a subtle black color.

"Here, take this. Free of charge, you don't owe me. You seem kinda small, so you probably don't need a binder anytime soon. This should do a great job of keeping your chest flat for awhile." Gumball gingerly took the sport bra.

"Wow, I'm... I'm so thankful... thanks Tobias, like really!" Tobias smiled at the way Gumball's eyes shined.

"Like I said, no problem. Hang on, gotta get out of this." Tobias reached deep into his fur, managing to find the clasps. He took them off, then slowly pulled it off. He groaned in relief, taking a deep, great inhale. He internally cringed at how heavy his chest felt, then turned to Gumball.

"Hand me the tie-dye one, thank youuu." Gumball handed him it. Before he was about to put it on, he noticed Gumball looking at his paws, embarrassed.

"You okay dude?"

"Y-Yeah, um, I'm just... shy to change, uh, in front of someone."

"Me to. It's just that, well... I mean, we're both trans guys, right? It isn't a huge deal with us. I'm not gonna judge." Gumball nodded, then shyly took off his sweater. He hurried to try and put the sports bra on, only to get lost within seconds. Before he could somehow get himself tangled up, Tobias reached his hands out, helping him with the clasps.

"...Thanks, Tobias."

"Welcome, Gumball! And remember," he shook his finger, "no more ace bandages! If your parents ask, just say a friend at school like you helped you out. Don't out me, okay?" Gumball put his sweater back on. Tobias idly wondered how rare seeing even an inch of Gumball's arms was.

After a few minutes, the two walked out of the bathroom, feeling changed in the best way possible. Gumball walked with his head high and Tobias felt a true smile on his face.


End file.
